Doctor Sleep; Stephen King

Stephen King fans are in for a treat with Doctor Sleep; it's much better
than I could have imagined. I anticipated for months how this sequel
to The Shining might possibly play out, and my imaginings never came
close to predicting how this one might shake out. Plan to read this one
when you are sure to have a uninterrupted time, as you will not want to
put this one down until you've finished the entire novel.

So
yes, Danny Torrance, the little boy with the "the shining", is back in
the sequel. He's all grown up now. He's battled alcoholism, and is
winning the fight. He works at a facility for hospice patients called,
the Rivington House in a small NH town. To his coworkers, he's referred
to as, Doctor Sleep, as he, along with Azee the cat, have a way of
helping guests there leave this world behind when the their time has
come.

As Danny has aged, and since he has stopped drinking, his
"shining" abilities are not as powerful as they once were. There is,
however, someone who has been communicating with Danny in unusual ways,
whose "shining" abilities far exceed anything Danny was ever capable of.
Her name is Abra (Abby) Stone. Abra, even before she could walk and
talk was trying to warn others about bad things that would and did
happen. At just 11 years old, her powers are stronger than ever, and
her parents and Danny fear for her safety.

Rattlesnake, Rosie the
Hat, Snakebite Andi, Crow Daddy, Walnut, Mr. Business Man, Mr. Dealer
Man and more, are a motley crew, part of a group called: The True Knot,
the Steam Heads. The group travels cross country in RV clusters, and to
the average person, their attire of cheap sun glasses, fishing hats,
stretch pants and attention getting bumper stickers makes them appear
like many other retirees traveling in RVs. Believing that they are
regular folks would be dangerous, because they really are not interested
in seeing the sites in their RV. They have a special agenda, and a
special interest in talented young "shining" ones like Abra.

Although
Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining, it can be read as a
stand-alone novel. I was happy that there were references to the
Overlook Hotel, and also to other characters from The Shining. Most were
referred to briefly like: Jack and Wendy (Danny's parents), Richard
(Dick) Hallorann, who saved the lives of the Torrance family when the
Overlook was destroyed by fire. Also mentioned was Mrs Massey, Room 217,
Horace Dorman, as well as Tony, Danny's imaginary friend. It was good
to have their names reappear, even briefly in Doctor Sleep.

For
me, this one is "classic Stephen King". When I read phrases like "eyes
dripping and bloated", I smiled. This is the Stephen King, I love the
best. READ IT!(audio book provided to me by Simon & Schuster)

28 comments:

Aw my copy is arriving next week! I don't want even the tiniest of spoilers so all I've read of your review is the five-star rating and the last few lines. But they were enough to get me totally excited. Can't wait to read this!!

Nice review, Diane. I haven't read a Stephen King novel in a very long time because they started getting too creepy for me. I did buy a copy of 11/22/63 when it came out, but haven't read it yet. I may give this new one a try.

Okay, I am totally not reading your full review because I don't want to ruin a thing!! I am so excited to read this one. I am trying to hold off starting it until Monday when the read-along starts. We will see if temptation wins out though!!

It seems like everything King writes these days turns to gold. He went through such an awful period in the late 80s and 90s but literally everything he has written since the turn of the millennium has been stellar. I haven't read Doctor Sleep yet but given his recent track record, I'm not going to hesitate when the opportunity arises.

Even though I liked The Shining and just reacquainted myself with King with much success, for some reason, this one hasn't appealed to me. But 5/5 stars does appeal to me. I can see that I'm going to come around about this one!

I'm getting my copy tomorrow so I'm waiting to read your review. I was thrilled to see how much you liked the book...I know what I'll be reading this weekend and well into the night!I'm so glad you enjoyed this book, Diane!

I'm so happy you loved it this much! Hurray! I've been avoiding most reviews, mostly so I can come to it free of expectation. Your review was just the thing though - good Stephen King to look forward to. As I just finished re-reading The Shining, everything is fresh in my mind. I am going to wait for a stretch of time, hoping next weekend I can take time away to lose myself in it. Lovely review, Diane. I am really delighted you enjoyed it so much.

I have just finished reading this and I wasn't disappointed. You're right this can be read as a stand alone novel, but fans of 'The Shining' will be happy too I think. I am planning to do a review of this on my blog soon.

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